Sisterhood: a necessity!

The equivalent of the word "sisterhood" in French, “sororité”, is not very elegant or harmonious, its sound is not soft in the ear and it is rarely used compared to its male counterpart, “fraternité”, brotherhood. Ah, brotherhood! This word immediately evokes beautiful images: the purity of the relationship, its depth, the solidity of the bond, its unconditional, friendly and lasting character.

And yet! When sisterhood manifests itself, it leaves us speechless, gives us shivers and courage, energy, hope... As on the symbolic day of June 14. When, with more than 40,000 women of all origins, all socio-professional categories, all ages, dressed in purple, and also men in solidarity, we walked the streets of Lausanne, finally united.

We marched, serene, joyful, determined, without impatience or aggressiveness, enjoying this moment of sharing, with a feeling of power and lightness, encouraged along the way by our elders, some standing with two canes, others with a walker, a smile to the ears or tears in the eyes. The slogan that we chanted most during these hours of communion was not to complain about our fate but to support others:

"So, so, so, so, so, solidarity with women all over the world!"

A question then comes to mind: how can women’s solidarity be expressed in such a natural and spontaneous way during a protest march while being so often uncertain and unreliable in the workplace? Because, let's face it, our daily lives are not rosy. In three decades of experience in people management and development, we have observed women fighting each other more often than making the short scale! Whatever the organization, its mission, its culture, its size, our observation is unfortunately the same: the worst enemies of women in the world of work are women!

The scarcity of jobs to take, of promotional opportunities to positions of responsibility, the lack of recognition of talents, contributions, the weight of parental role models, mental conditioning through education, or the negative impact of motherhood on careers all contribute to creating a competitive work environment in which we do not always show the best of ourselves: jealousy, pettiness, gossip, rumors, sweeping judgments, hypocritical behavior, lies, manipulation... The entire arsenal is deployed! It seems that, in this context, it is difficult for us to go beyond our rivalries.

Without being fully aware of it, we feed stereotypes and create a loophole, into which men readily jump in: "In any case, you know, when women are among themselves!"

Whereas, in an environment where we feel safe, we prove how much sisterhood is our driving force and the key to our success. For instance, as part of the ELLE Suisse magazine meetings held last April at the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne, during which three exceptional women, Romaine Jean, communication consultant and president of the Fondation Hirondelle, Myret Zaki, Swiss business journalist and former editor-in-chief of Bilan magazine, and Yasmine Char, playwright and director of the Octogone theatre, shared openly their strategies for success and best advice. What a great source of inspiration!

Or at the Women's Business Society (WBS) annual dinner in mid-May at the Beau-Rivage Palace, with guest of honor Cécile Dussart, Vice President Operations at Nestlé Skin Health, also an inspiring leader who makes room for other women. The WBS, an association created in 2014 in Geneva by young women lawyers, is supported by some of their male colleagues. Realizing that the glass ceiling also concerns them, these lawyers are joining forces to help each other build their professional careers.

We can only welcome this succession of constructive initiatives that mark a change in attitude. A beginning of awareness that equality, parity can only exist if we start by treating each other with respect and kindness.